Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley elected as the Green Party’s new co-leaders

After a summer of uncertainty across all UK political parties, democracy is finally starting to re-shape itself by closing in on new leaders, new policies and new goals in a post-EU era.

The tories have Theresa May, The liberal Democrats have Tim Farron and Labour are narrowed down to either Jeremy Corbyn (current leader of the opposition) and Owen Smith – the challenger to the UK socialist throne.

Looking towards the UK’s ‘smaller’ parties (based on membership amounts and parliamentary elections votes from 2015) we looks towards UKIP and the Greens who are appointing their new respective leaders.

UKIP still have theirs to announce, however on the 2nd of September – The Green Party announced Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley as it’s new co-leaders ahead of the 2020 general election in a ‘job-sharing agreement’.

The two saw off other competition from five others in order to succeed former leader Natalie Bennett, who is stood down after four years in charge.

Ms Lucas, the Greens’ only MP in the constituency of Brighton, was leader of the party between 2008 and 2012, while Mr Bartley is the party’s work and pensions spokesman.

The two said the joint election showed the party was “not bound by tradition”.

Their joint ticket took 13,570 – 88% – of the 15,467 votes cast.

The announcement was made at the party’s autumn conference in Birmingham, at which Amelia Womack was also elected deputy leader.

The other respective candidates in the election were former election candidate Simon Cross, long-serving member Clive Lord, film-maker David Malone, parish councillor Martie Warin and David Williams, who leads the Green group on Oxfordshire County Council.

In the speech after the announcement of the two winning – Ms Lucas explained environmental protections, workers rights, guarantees for EU citizens already living in the UK and a “culture of free movement” should be at the heart of the UK’s Brexit settlement – the terms of which she said should be put to a second referendum.

She won applause from the party faithful for her comments on “the greatest threat to our security today – the accelerating climate crisis” saying fossil fuels should be left “where they belong… in the ground”. “No fracking, no nuclear, no compromise,” she added, to big cheers from the audience.

What do you make of the Greens new appointments?

Will the Greens now have a strong leadership in order to build the party further and beat their 2015 General Election results come 2020? Will they help to rise the parties popularity? How will they effect brexit negotiations?